76
Academic Resources & Technology
Boston College Libraries
Bapst Library
Middle Campus
Law Library
Newton Campus
School of Social Work Library
McGuinn Hall, Lower Level
The John J. Burns Library of
Rare Books and Special Collections
Burns Library, Middle Campus
Newton Resource Center
(Undergraduate)
Chapel Basement, Newton Campus
Educational Resource Center
Campion Hall
Geophysics Library
Weston Observatory, Weston, MA
O’Neill Library
Central Library, Middle Campus
The Connors Family Learning
Center
O'Neill Library
Boston College Library Holdings Fiscal Year 2005
Total Volumes
Bapst
2,124,242
50,799
Burns
140,390
Educational Resource Center
Total Electronic Serial Subscriptions
Total EBooks
41,555
255,578
50,558
Law
234,492
O'Neill
Social Work
1,595,419
43,920
Weston Geophysics
Total Microform Units
4,050,845
Law
1,458,785
O'Neill
2,592,060
8,664
Total Paper Serial Subscriptions
Bapst
Burns
Educational Resource Center
Law
O'Neill
Social Work
10,783
161
272
82
2,884
7,107
277
Total Government Documents
Law
O'Neill
214,674
5,148
209,526
Source: University Librarian
Expenditures for Library Materials
Library
O'Neill*
Educational Resource Center
Bapst
Social Work
John J. Burns
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-04
2004-05
$ 5,254,406
68,968
78,075
95,144
210,840
$ 5,420,183
68,338
81,120
98,493
193,160
$ 5,783,264
73,146
84,284
100,765
104,254
$ 5,817,667
76,537
87,023
101,291
196,502
$ 6,078,265
79,672
90,417
108,147
328,512
Law
Total
997,441
1,016,247
997,497
1,066,073
1,117,537
$ 6,704,874
$ 6,877,541
$ 7,143,210
$ 7,345,095
$7,802,550
* Includes general expenditures recorded as "University Librarian"
Source: Office of the Controller
Academic Resources & Technology
Digital Library Services
Quest: The Library Information System
Quest, the Libraries’ web-based integrated system, provides convenient
access to the Libraries’ collections, digital resources, and services from
www.bc.edu/quest. It offers a variety of methods for finding books,
periodicals, media resources, government documents, microforms,
newspapers, and electronic materials.
Quest can easily be searched from any web browser regardless of
platform or location 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Users can
interact with the system and receive immediate feedback on the status of
requests; they can place a hold, recall or request rush processing for a
new book right from their desktop. Users can also initiate and track
requests for document delivery and interlibrary loan transactions, and
may renew materials that are currently charged to them. The web
interface and expanded cataloging capabilities allow unprecedented
access to thousands of web accessible scholarly resources, to full text
journals and to digital collections of photographs and other material.
Digital Resources
The Boston College Libraries offer access to a rich collection of electronic
indexes and databases. A growing number of these databases include
full text access to thousands of books and journals directly from the
researcher’s desktop. See the list of Online Databases on the Libraries’
home page, www.bc.edu/libraries.html to get a sense of the range of
resources. The list includes groupings by subject and an alphabetical
listing by title. Databases range in coverage from very general to very
specific and cover a wide range of research areas in the humanities, social
sciences, sciences, health sciences, business law, and public affairs. Most
databases can be reached directly by clicking on the web links. Some
must be used on-site. An expanding number of links to electronic
journals may also be found by selecting Electronic Journals from the
Libraries’ home page. The libraries have also introduced technologies
that provide links between the databases and e-journal collections,
http://www.bc.edu/libraries/resources/databases/s-sfxfaq/. Most databases
available through the Boston College Libraries are restricted to the Boston
College community. Your BC username and password are needed to
access these databases from off campus.
The Libraries also support an expanding digital collection of special and
rare materials such as the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Photographs, the Liturgy
and Life Artifacts collection and the Boston Gas Company Photographs
via the John J. Burns Library Rare Books and Special Collections web
page: http://www.bc.edu/libraries/centers/burns/resources/digitalcoll/
Librarians offer classes in how to search databases effectively, by
arrangement with professors, and also provide reference assistance at
several service points and individual research consultations by
appointment. Researchers who cannot locate resources needed may
contact a librarian to develop a search strategy to locate relevant
information. See the list of Subject Bibliographers to know which
librarian to contact. http://www.bc.edu/libraries/services/ref-instruc/ssubjectspec/
United State Government Publications
O’Neill Library at Boston College is a member of the Federal Depository
Libraries system. As a member of the depository system, O'Neill Library
receives government documents in print, microfiche, and electronic
formats and makes them available to the general public as well as Boston
College students, staff and faculty. Patrons can locate government
documents in Quest, the library catalog, and via specialized indexes.
77
Many government publications are also available via the internet.
Further information may be found at
http://www.bc.edu/libraries/centers/govdocs/. Questions about the O'Neill
collection and the availability of government documents should be
directed to the Reference staff in O’Neill Library.
Media Center
The Media Center on the second floor of the O’Neill Library houses
information in many non-print formats: videocassettes, DVDs, laserdiscs,
compact discs, audiocassettes, LPs, and CD-ROMs. Patrons within the
Center, in individual carrels, may use all media. Faculty may conduct
classes using media in either of our two classrooms. There is a Preview
Room where faculty and/or students may meet in small groups for
discussing or previewing media materials used in coursework. A portion
of the collection is restricted to BC faculty loan only. Two day loan of
non-restricted videos and DVDs is permitted to members of the BC
community.
Interlibrary Loan
An Interlibrary Loan Service is offered to students, faculty,
administrators, and staff to obtain research materials not available in the
Boston College Libraries. Books, journal articles, microfilm, theses and
government documents may be borrowed from other libraries. Except
for unusual items, the waiting period is from one to three weeks; some
materials arrive within a day or two. Requests are made by using forms
in the Your Account function of Quest or the Find It option that appears in
many online databases.
Boston Library Consortium
The Boston College Libraries are part of the Boston Library Consortium, a
group of area libraries which includes Brandeis University, Boston
University, Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Northeastern University, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts
System, Wellesley College, Williams College, as well as the
Massachusetts State Library, the Boston Public Library, and the Marine
Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole. Faculty and students may apply
for a Consortium borrower’s card at the Reference Department in O’Neill
Library in order to borrow directly from the member libraries. Ask at
the O’Neill Reference Desk for more information about the Consortium.
Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit
organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is
to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication
and the public policies that affect research libraries and the
communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the
goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public
and information policy to the scholarly and higher education
communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and
shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of
allied organizations.
New England Library Information Network/OCLC
Through membership in NELINET, Inc., a cooperative of over 600
libraries in New England, our users have online access to WorldCat,
the database of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, which
contains over 62 million bibliographic records and 1 billion holdings
from the Library of Congress, other national libraries, and from over
50,000 libraries in almost 100 countries.
Source: University Librarian
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Academic Resources & Technology
John J. Burns Library of
Rare Books and Special Collections
The University’s special collections, including the University’s
Archives, are housed in the Honorable John J. Burns Library,
located in the Bapst Library Building, north entrance. These
distinguished and varied collections speak eloquently of the
University’s commitment to the preservation and
dissemination of human knowledge. The Burns Library is
home to more than 160,000 volumes, some 15,000,000
manuscripts, and important collections of architectural
records, maps, art works, photographs, films, prints, artifacts,
and ephemera. These materials are housed in the climatecontrolled, secure environment of Burns either because of their
rarity or because of their importance as part of a special
collection. While treated with special care, these resources are
available for use at Burns to all qualified students, faculty, and
researchers. Indeed, their use is strongly encouraged, and
visitors to Burns are always welcome, either simply to browse
or to make use of the collections.
Though its collections cover virtually the entire spectrum of
human knowledge, the Burns Library has achieved
international recognition in several specific areas of research,
most notably: Irish studies; British Catholic authors; Jesuitana;
Fine Print; Catholic liturgy and life in America, 1925-1975;
Boston history; the Caribbean, especially Jamaica; Balkan
studies; Nursing; and Congressional archives. It has also won
acclaim for significant holdings on American detective fiction,
Thomas Merton, Japanese prints, Colonial and early Republic
Protestantism, and banking. To learn more about specific
holdings in Burns, please see www.bc.edu/burns
The John J Burns Library is open Monday through Friday, 9:00
a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The Library is closed on all University
holidays. Visitors are always welcome and are encouraged to
view the permanent exhibition areas of the Library. Guided
tours are also available upon request. Patrons using the
collections must do so in the Burns Reading Room where
specialized reference and copy services are provided. Burns
sponsors an active exhibits and lecture series program.
Source: Burns Librarian
The Language Laboratory
The Boston College Language Laboratory, serving all the
language departments, students of English as a foreign
language, and the Boston College community at large, is
located in Lyons 313. In addition to its 32 listening/recording
stations and teacher console, the facility includes 20
workstations (16 Macs, 4 Dells), 4 Mac wireless laptops, 2 laser
printers, a Web server, a materials development workstation, 2
TV/video/DVD viewing rooms, 2 individual
carrels for TV/videocassette/DVD viewing, a CD listening
station, and portable audio and video equipment. The Lab's
media collection and print materials directly support and/or
supplement the curriculum requirements in international
language, literature, and music.
The Lab's collection is designed to assist users in the
acquisition and maintenance of aural comprehension, oral and
written proficiency, and cultural awareness. Prominent among
the Lab's offerings that directly address these goals are
international news broadcasts and other television
programming available through the Boston College cable
television network and made accessible to lab users via
EagleNET connections and/or via videotaped off-air
recordings. These live or near-live broadcasts from around the
world provide a timely resource for linguistic and cultural
information in a wide variety of languages.
Students (undergraduate and graduate), faculty and B.C.
community members who wish to use the Language
Laboratory facility and its collection will find the Laboratory
staff available during the day, in the evening, and on
weekends to assist them in the operation of equipment and in
the selection of appropriate materials for their course-related
or personal language needs. Digitized audio programs from
the Lab's collection are also available on the Boston College
network 24 hours/day, 7 days/week to students officially
enrolled in courses in which these programs have been
adopted as curricular material. For more information about
the Language Laboratory, visit its Web site at
http://www.bc.edu/langlab.
Source: Language Laboratory
University Archives
Archives are the official non-current papers and records of an
institution that are retained permanently for their legal, fiscal,
or historical values. The University Archives, a department
within the John J. Burns Library, contains: the office records
and documents of the various University offices, academic and
other; copies of all University publications, including student
publications; movie footage of Boston College football; some
audiovisual materials; and tape recordings of the University
Lecture Series and other significant events. A significant
collection of photographs documents the pictorial history of
Boston College. Alumni, faculty, and Jesuit records are also
preserved. In addition, the University Archives is the
repository for the records of Newton College of the Sacred
Heart (1946-1975) and the documents of the Jesuit Community
of Boston College (1863-).
Source: University Archivist
Academic Resources & Technology
79
Information Technology Services
Information Technology Services manages Boston College's computing, communications, and electronic information resources, and
working with key constituencies throughout the University, provides the leadership to shape future technology plans and strategies to
meet the mission and goals of the University. The highly integrated Boston College campus technology environment provides voice,
data, and cable television connections to classrooms, offices, and residence hall rooms. IT staff work to keep up with rapidly changing
applications and technology infrastructure, providing faculty, staff and students with the tools and technologies needed to compete
and succeed. As the development of Web-enabled services matures, BC continues providing new Web-based online services, such as
enhanced email services, and personal information management options.
Successful Email Deliveries
2004 By Month
January
7,626,431
February
8,548,975
March
10,089,664
April
10,112,679
May
9,345,182
June
5,566,666
July
5,505,289
August
5,330,884
September
7,350,029
October
7,808,196
November*
8,198,606
December**
7,378,745
Total
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
92,861,346
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
*Implemented spam blocking, ** Estimates based on prior year
Source: Information Technology Services
Successful Page Deliveries by
www.bc.edu Web Server
By Month
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
June
27,935
190,137
279,542
1,002,994
*
2,392,541
2,039,660
4,042,058
5,619,713
11,200,366
July
45,192
238,233
404,894
946,299
*
2,527,185
3,808,216
3,877,809
5,722,762
9,707,559
August
63,210
237,030
526,562
1,118,492
*
3,065,535
3,784,256
3,504,323
6,501,110
10,886,097
September
121,976
451,695
938,357
1,207,177
*
5,285,181
5,516,599
6,296,262
8,667,787
13,054,896
October
146,576
508,895
1,013,426
1,607,353
*
5,114,635
5,256,673
7,873,216
9,072,260
13,350,515
November
135,112
506,962
935,703
1,692,974
*
4,363,571
5,730,428
7,065,390
8,567,383
14,236,905
December
106,097
367,231
757,960
1,430,245
*
3,853,523
4,598,432
6,365,159
7,761,238
11,817,301
January
141,290
*
817,031
1,601,388
2,967,437
4,101,982
5,968,718
7,273,607
10,992,778
12,969,377
February
186,043
768,969
1,061,693
2,014,961
3,605,414
4,136,356
6,327,405
6,943,384
10,842,677
13,299,943
March
190,674
924,787
1,245,231
2,100,228
3,611,981
4,830,946
5,918,802
4,529,088
12,533,014
14,121,130
April
203,636
736,529
1,512,718
2,201,534
3,421,388
4,840,545
6,700,884
7,092,668
11,697,974
14,770,034
183,106
1,550,847
431,943
5,362,411
1,069,806
10,562,923
1,758,244
18,681,889
*
13,606,220
*
44,512,000
5,183,978
60,834,051
5,744,861
70,607,825
10,366,623
108,345,319
12,431,886
151,846,009
May
Total
* Data unavailable
Source: Information Technology Services
80
Academic Resources & Technology
Connors Family Learning Center
The Connors Family Learning Center is a comprehensive, inclusive resource serving all of the University’s students and faculty. The
mission of the Center is to enhance teaching and learning across the university. One of the CFLC’s three professional staff members
assists students with learning disabilities, helping to ensure their academic success at Boston College. The Center also sponsors
seminars, workshops, and discussions for faculty and graduate teaching fellows on strategies for successful teaching and learning. To
address the needs of Boston College students, the Center provides tutoring for more than 60 courses, including calculus, statistics,
biology, chemistry, nursing, accounting, classical and foreign languages, English as a Second Language and writing. (All CFLC tutors
are recommended and approved by their relevant academic departments; most are graduate students, juniors, or seniors.) Tutoring
and all other academic support services are free of charge to all Boston College students and instructors. The Connors Family Learning
Center, which opened its doors in September 1991, is located on the second floor of O’Neill Library in the Eileen M. and John M.
Connors Learning Center.
Source: Connors Family Learning Center
Connors Family Learning Center Statistics
Academic
Year
Total Student
Contact Hours
Hours of
Tutoring
# of Students
Tutored
6,419
6,162
6,050
6,012
5,800
5,882
5,976
6,755
6,663
6,331
6,419
6,162
6,050
6,012
5,800
5,882
5,976
4,329
4,016
3,551
2,000
2,000
1,810
2,100
2,200
2,200
2,150
1,600
1,550
1,560
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
Hours of
Supplemental
Instruction
----------------------------2,426
2,647
2,780
# of Students in
Supplemental
Instruction
----------------------------540
587
600
Rated Tutoring
“Extremely” or
“Very” Helpful
92%
92%
93%
93%
93%
93%
92%
92%
93%
93%
Source: Connors Family Learning Center
The McMullen Museum of Art
The Charles S. and Isabella V. McMullen Museum of Art aims to increase understanding of the visual arts, to encourage inquiry, and to
enrich learning through the display of a notable permanent collection and special exhibitions of international importance. The Museum
occupies two floors of Devlin Hall. Spacious galleries with movable walls provide flexible exhibition spaces that rival venues in larger
museums. The Museum maintains an active special exhibition program, bringing outstanding works from around the world to
Chestnut Hill. The Museum organizes public lectures, symposia, workshops, film series, and gallery tours to accompany current
exhibitions. Begun in the nineteenth century, the University’s permanent collection contains works that span the history of art from
Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Outstanding among them are Gothic and Baroque tapestries, Italian paintings of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, American landscape paintings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Japanese prints. The
collection is displayed on a rotating basis in the Museum’s galleries. In keeping with the teaching mission of a university museum,
accompanying text explains the significance of each work in its historical context and addresses questions from the current scholarship.
Web site: www.bc.edu/artmuseum.
Source: McMullen Museum of Art